Irish Potato Cakes
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to whip up some Irish potato cakes! These tasty flap jacks are also known as boxty which is a traditional Irish dish. It is believed that the potato cakes originated in the 1700’s when the Irish were relying heavily on potatoes to survive and to make their potato harvest last longer.
My mom is of Irish decent so my parents have a St. Patrick’s Day party every year to celebrate. It’s always fun to get together with family. We usually wear green and bring out the green necklaces and other decorations….BUT THE FOOD! Always delicious! We are very fortunate that my mom is an amazing cook and she doesn’t disappoint on St. Patrick’s Day! She mixes it up every year. Sometimes she’ll do a cornbeef roast so we can make sandwiches or have as a side with colcannon and other tasty dishes. She’s done shepards pie which is always yummy and filling or she does bangers and mash (sausages and potatoes). My mouths watering just thinking about it all!
Potatoes are obviously a huge part of Irish food. There are so many ways to prepare them and they are so delicious and filling. They also have their health benefits too;-) Russet potatoes are rich in vitamin c and iron which benefit your immune system and circulation. Potatoes are rich in flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acids which all act as antioxidants that neutralize free radicals reducing your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Potatoes are a resistant starch, which is not broken down and fully absorbed by the body, allowing it to reach the large intestine where it then becomes a source of nutrients that are great for your gut! These resistant starches improves blood sugar control because they reduce insulin resistance as well. The resistant starch in potatoes converts into short chain fatty acids (SCFA), specifially butyrate, which gut bacteria LOVE to feed off of. Butyrate can also reduce inflammation in the colon and help reduce your risk for colon cancer. Another bonus of potatoes is that they are naturally gluten free so are a good alternative for people looking to avoid gluten! All in all potatoes are pretty good for you as long as you don’t load them up with alot of cheese, bacon, and sour cream! Potatoes are so versatile to cook with, they can be baked, steamed, or boiled. My favorite is usually mashed potatoes or just diced and roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Rosemary and garlic are good additions to when roasting.
I made a plant based version of Irish potato cakes. I got inspiration from Vegan Richa for the cakes and then made my own version of Dr. Gregor’s recipe for ranch dressing from The How Not to Die Cookbook.
Irish Potato Cakes
2 Russett Potatoes
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup gluten free flour (or you can use regular flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (If you like spice, otherwise you can leave this out.)
oil for cooking or vegan butter
Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup cashews soaked for atleast 30 minutes
2 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp ranch seasoning
1 tsp miso paste
1 tsp coconut sugar (or any other sweetener you have on hand)
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
Peel both potatoes. Cut one potato up into medium chunks, place the potato chunks into a medium sized pot, and cover with water about an inch above the potatoes. Heat the pot on high until boiling. Let the potatoes boil for about 5-7 minutes, you can test there doneness by sticking them with a fork. If the fork goes in easy, they are done. (While your making the potatoes preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop just the top part of the head of garlic off and wrap in parchment paper and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes. This will be used in the ranch dressing recipe).
Shred the other potato using a grater. Squeeze the water out of the shredded potato then add lemon juice.
You can now mash the boiled potato and add the salt, pepper, almond milk, flaxseed, and nutritional yeast. Add the shredded potato to the mashed potatoes and stir to combine.
In a seperate small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and cayenne. Mix and then add to the potatoes. Stir to combine. If your mixture becomes to dry, you can add more almond milk a tablespoon at a time.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add about a tablespoon of olive oil or vegan butter to your pan. Scoop your potato mixture into dollops in the pan, flatten them, and let them cook 5-6 minutes on each side. You’ll see them get a nice crispy brown. Once browned on each side, remove from pan and place on a paper towel covered plate to cool.
While their cooling, make your ranch dressing.
Drain the cashews. Combine all ingredients for the ranch dressing into a blender. This can be used as a topping for your potato cakes. Leftovers can be saved for a dipping sauce as well. Enjoy!
